Device foe postage



(No Model.)

J. P. FARMER; GANGELING DEVICE FOR POSTAGE, REVENUE/AND OTHER STAMBS. No. 244,800. Patented Ju1y26, 1881.

1W w W i %WW% I AH! v UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN P. FARMER, PENN YAN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR OF TWO-THIRDS TO DAVID J. FARMER-AND SAMUEL FARMER, OF SAME PLACE.

- CANCELING DEVICE FOR POSTAGE, REVENUE, AND OTHER STAMPS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters'Patent No. 244,800, dated July 26, 1881,

Application filed November 19, 1880. (N0 model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known'that I, JoHN P. FARMER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Penn Yan, in the county of Yates and State of New York, have invented an Improvement in CancelingDevices for Postage, Revenue, and other Stamps, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to those devices in which cutting-edges are employed for canceling.

My improvement consists in a canceler having a stock formed with ahandle, and abroad base having a flat face adapted to rest on the stamp to be canceled, a vertical shaft penetrating the handle, adapted to be continuously rotated, and provided at its lower end with a head having cutting-edges, and adapted to have slight vertical movement in a chamber formed in the said base, a spring between the said head and the top of the said chamber for pressing the cutting-edges onto the stamp, a collar for supporting and limiting the downward movement of the shaft, and a coupling for connecting the device to suitable operating mech ani s m In order that myinvention may be fully understood, I will proceed to describe it with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which- I Figure l is a vertical longitudinal section of my improved stampcanceler. Fig. 2 is a bottom view thereof. Fig. 3 is a view of the disk provided with a series of concentric cuttingedges. Fig. 4 is a view of another form of disk.

H may represent the handle of the stock, which supports the device on and over the stamp to be canceled, and h the broad base, having aflat'face, h, that rests upon the stamp while the stamp is beingabraded or scraped.

B is a shaft penetrating the handle, and provided at its lower end with a head, 0, having cutting-edges 0, adapted to abrade or scrape the stamp; The head 0 has limited play within a chamber, h, in the base, and is pressed down'by a spring, S, surrounding the shaft be tween the head (J and the top h of the said chamber. The extent of the downward movement of the shaft is regulated by an adjustable collar, 0, which supports the shaft. The collar 0 turns on the upper end of the stock and has a thread, 0, engaging with another thread, 8, on the upper end of the shaft B. The collar, after being adjusted, is secured by a set- M may represent a coupling, by which the shaft is connected to a flexible shaft, N, or pulley N, (as indicated in dotted lines,) having motion imparted to it by means of suitable mechanism adapted to rotate the shaft at a high rate of speed.

It will be observed that the fiat face h resting on the stamp, the weight of the tool rests on the stamp, while the spring S only presses down the head sufficiently to bring the cutting-edges in contact with the surface of the stamp, so as to disfigure it by scraping or abrading without cutting through it, thus rendering the tool a practicable device for the purpose of obliterating, without destroying, the stamp or the document to which the stamp is applied.

The device is simple in construction, consisting of few parts, and is not liable to get out of order.

Having thus described my invention, the following is what I claim as new therein and desire to secure by Letters Patent.

The combination of the stock formed with handle H, broad base h, having chamber h and fiat face h, adapted to rest on the stamp, the shaft 13 penetrating the said handle and adapted to be continuously rotated, and provided with a head, 0, having cutting-edges 0 adapted to abrade the stamp and sliding in said chamber, the spring S, for pressing the head downward, the collar 0 supporting the said shaft and regulating the height thereof, and a coupling, M, for connecting the said shaft to suitable mechanism for imparting motion thereto, as and for the purpose set forth.

JOHN P. FARMER.

Witnesses:

WALTER ALLEN, HARRY E. KNIGHT. 

